Metal heat spreaders of various shapes and designs have been commonly used to spread or conduct heat away from a metal lead frame which is electrically connected to an integrated circuit die. One application of such heat spreaders has been to physically attach the heat spreader to the metal lead frame wherein both the heat spreader and lead frame are encapsulated in plastic. In such an application, a heat spreader is used to spread heat in a relatively uniform manner throughout plastic and is not used for contact to an external heat sink. When heat spreaders have an exposed surface, poor adhesion between plastic and metal may allow moisture to enter into the package. Exposed metal surfaces may also result in a fragile structure. A disadvantage with heat spreaders that are directly connected to a metal lead frame is that achieving the physical connection requires a separate manufacturing step. A further disadvantage with such heat spreaders is the fact that capacitance exists between the heat spreader which acts as one long conducting surface or plate and the lead frame which acts as another conducting surface or plate. Since the lead frame has different voltages at various points during operation and the distance separating the two conducting surfaces is small, a large capacitance is created between the two surfaces. For some applications the capacitance does not present a significant problem. However, in many high speed circuits, such as a microprocessor, the capacitance can be a severe problem. Another problem is the variation in capacitance from part to part which results from variation in the position of the heat spreader with respect to the lead frame. As a result of the variation of capacitance from part to part, a heat spreader configuration may be acceptable for some parts but be unacceptable for other parts having different lead frame configurations.